Genetic identity and diversity among experimental selections and cultivars of vegetatively propagated turf bermudagrass as assessed with SSR markers

Abstract

AbstractTurf bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) is the most common, warm‐season, sod‐forming perennial grass for residential lawns, sports fields, golf courses, and public landscapes in warm climates across the world. Genetic diversity and identity information are important for breeding new cultivars and production certification. Accordingly, this experiment was designed to genotype experimental selections along with commercial cultivars to analyze their genetic diversity. Nineteen advanced selections from the Oklahoma State University (OSU) turfgrass breeding program and 13 cultivars were used in the genetic analysis. Fifty‐four simple sequence repeat (SSR) primer pairs (PPs) selected across the bermudagrass genome produced 618 polymorphic PCR fragments, of which 120 fragments amplified by using 48 SSRs were unique to the 19 experimental selections. Genetic similarity coefficients varied from 0.69 to 1.00. The AMOVA results indicated 94% of the variation resided within the selections or cultivars. The UPGMA analysis showed that groupings were associated with origins of their parental germplasm. The seventeen distinct experimental selections identified were genetically different from all commercial cultivars tested, demonstrating the potential of adding genetic diversity to the existing cultivar pool if one or more of the experimental genotypes are released for commercial production.